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2008 SOTF-TV Seasons
2008 saw the expansion of SOTF-TV, which moved to four seasons in this year as compared to the two apiece in 2006 and 2007. This change reflected the mounting popularity and the hunger of fans for more action, though the seasons this year did not universally hit the same level of quality as in 2007. Some of the hiccups in the formula created intriguing new developments, however, as 2008 saw students escape the game for the first time, and also saw experimentation as students from two different schools were thrown into the game together. Season Five Dates: ' Spring 2008 '''Winner: ' Jonathan Stone (four kills) '''Runner Up: Muriel Villalobos (five kills) Third Place: Josue Green (three kills) Location: The decommissioned Saterfield Airbase, located in Virginia. An airbase that saw widespread use during and for the half decade following World War II, Saterfield was afterwards passed between various branches of the military for use in exercises and training before finally falling entirely into disuse during the late 1980s. The airbase consisted of a number of buildings (including barracks, hangars, and a mess hall), large tracts of airstrip, and a wooded area that surrounded the arena. A barbed wire fence, intended to keep trespassers out of the base, was repurposed to keep students inside, though the primary enforcement mechanism was, as usual, the collars. Notable Participants: *''Jonathan Stone'' (winner, four kills) – Notable in large part for a certain lack of notability outside of his final fate, Jonathan Stone was one of a number of medium-impact players in Season Five. He made his way to the end of the game as a self-styled rogue, often victimizing others in a vaguely polite fashion. Season Five's Endgame was among the most violent seen to that point, and while Jonathan triumphed in two consecutive fights, he suffered severe injuries in the process, ultimately perishing before he could be extracted from the game and thus never reaping the rewards of his victory. *''Muriel Villalobos'' (runner-up, five kills) – At first a calculating player and canny tactician, Muriel had a tendency to overreach and became more and more unhinged as the season went on, showing a penchant for cruelty. Her disintegrating self control frequently allowed her targets to slip out of her grasp, but her reputation and sheer viciousness saw her through the game surprisingly well. She came very close to toppling Jonathan Stone and taking the win, actually managing to inflict fatal wounds upon him before perishing at his hands and earning one final posthumous kill. *''Josue Green'' (third place, three kills) – A mid-tier villain with a streak of self-aggrandizement, Josue was in early stages of the game more interested in finding the respect he never acquired at school than in killing. As the game wore on, he began to buy into his own hype, and a pair of kills on the final day proved him a threat as he entered Endgame. Ultimately, he ambushed and killed Anthony Kratochvil, but when he tried to keep the momentum up in a fight with Jonathan Stone, he found himself outclassed, throwing his everything into inflicting injuries on his killer before perishing. *''Anthony Kratochvil'' (fourth place, two kills) – Anthony Kratochvil was the closest Season Five's Endgame came to a hero. An irritable delinquent back in school, in the game Anthony was horrified at the selfish violence many of his classmates fell to, and was particularly appalled by Muriel Villalobos, an altercation with whom cost the life of Michelle Wegner, Anthony's closest ally. He spent the final day of the game trying to track down and kill Muriel, but while they clashed during Endgame, she gave him the slip and he fell into the clutches of Josue Green. *''Michelle Wegner'' (tenth place, one kill) – Michelle Wegner, a quiet teacher's pet, strongly considered playing the game upon first awakening. She found an unexpected moral compass in Anthony Kratochvil, and stayed with him for much of the game, fighting with him against those who threatened them. Eventually, the pair ran afoul of Muriel Villalobos, who killed Michelle, sparking Anthony's quest for revenge. *''Darius Darby'' (twelfth place/escapee, one kill) – The effective leader of Season Five's escape group, Darius had a pragmatic attitude that could veer towards the ruthless, especially when encouraged by his best friend, Jessica Hillman. He was kept somewhat in check by his boyfriend, Gerald Howard, and ultimately led the two safely out of the game. Charming and witty, Darius was a fan favorite from the start, and proved an unexpected ally of the producers in their quest to salvage the season following Jonathan's demise. *''Gerald Howard'' (thirteenth place/escapee, no kills) – While Season Five's escape group was spearheaded by Darius Darby, it was his boyfriend, Gerald Howard, who actually enabled the removal of the collars through canny observation and theory-crafting. Brave and determined to try to help others, Gerald took a stance opposite that of Darius and Jessica Hillman, and was backed in his desire to save others by Theresa Smith; it was only with her death that Gerald agreed to abandon the rest of their classmates to their fates. *''Jessica Hillman'' (fourteenth place/escapee, no kills) – The best friend of Darius Darby and the member of the escape group most closely aligned with his ideas, Jessica was a fun-loving and adventurous girl who turned to cold calculation when lives were at stake. She argued that the escape group should immediately depart the arena, leaving the rest of their classmates to die, and only very grudgingly remained with the group when they attempted to gather others. After the death of Theresa Smith, she and Darius finally persuaded Gerald of the necessity of watching out for themselves above all else. *''Theresa Smith'' (eighteenth place, no kills) – Theresa Smith was the member of the escape group least closely tied to the others, being a casual friend of Jessica Hillman's. Theresa found herself more closely aligned with Gerald Howard than with either Darius or Jessica when it came to opinions on how the group should proceed with their plans. While Theresa's role in the actual escape was limited, it was she who put herself on the line to try to help other classmates, which ultimately cost her life. *''Jack Martyn'' (thirtieth place, no kills) – Jack Martyn was a soccer player who was in fairly good standing at school. In the game, he fancied himself a hero, but when he came across Anthony Kratochvil and Michelle Wegner, he refused to believe that Anthony was anything but bad news due to the boy's poor reputation around school. Anthony famously kicked Jack through the railing of the mess hall's upper floor; while the fall might have been survivable under normal circumstances, Jack landed on a table with a jar of forks on it, and one of the forks became embedded in his spine. Summary: Season Five saw thirty-eight juniors from Chatman High School in Bethesda, Maryland, brought across the state border to battle in the decommissioned Saterfield Airbase in Northern Virginia over four days. With SOTF by now firmly established in the popular consciousness, Season Five saw the executives striving to refine the concept in a number of ways, notably by redesigning the collars to a somewhat more streamlined and aesthetically pleasing shape and size and by exploring the possibilities inherent in weapon assignments by providing only a handful of guns compared to a much larger selection of melee weapons. The season got off to a somewhat speedy start when Junior class president Pamela Nix (one of only four students to receive a firearm, and the only one assigned a fully automatic weapon, a MAC-10) strafed a group consisting of Floretta Campbell, Aaron Brodbeck, Raymond Caston, and Muriel Villalobos. Floretta and Raymond were killed in the attack, and Muriel dived for cover. Aaron, a football player in excellent shape, was spared the bullets by Pamela's unsure aim and charged her when she ran out of ammunition, tackling her to the ground and slamming her head into the runway. While Aaron meant only to neutralize Pamela as a threat, the adrenaline and tension of the moment led him to put his full force into the blow, and he fatally fractured Pamela's skull. Josue Green, a fairly meek boy back at school who was a frequent target for bullies, found himself, upon leaving the mess hall, face to face with one of his tormentors: Rodney Mackey. Rodney was unsure whether or not he could stomach actually killing, but figured he would at least extract supplies from Josue to better his chances. A panicked Josue backpedaled as Rodney lunged at him, leading Rodney, harder hit by the knockout gas than most of his classmates, to stumble and fall to his hands and knees. Seizing the moment, Josue kicked him in the face, bringing into play his assigned weapon: steel-toed boots. Josue shattered Rodney's nose and knocked in the boy's front two teeth, leaving Rodney crying and howling on the ground and Josue somewhat unable to believe what he had accomplished. A triumphant Josue quickly made use of his position of power, claiming Rodney's bag and forcing Rodney to leave a bloody kiss on the toe of his boot to be allowed to leave alive; when Rodney complied, Josue was as good as his word and allowed the boy to depart without further harm. At opposite sides of the wooded area, two sets of students paired up: Jessica Hillman with Gerald Howard, boyfriend of her best friend, Darius Darby, and Darius himself with Theresa Smith, one of Jessica's friends. Jessica planned to keep Gerald safe as best she could for Darius' sake, while Darius was initially fully prepared to sacrifice Theresa if need be for his own safety. Darius was intent on finding Gerald, and both Gerald and Jessica wanted to locate Darius; Theresa was largely along for the ride, finding comfort in the company of someone she at least knew by association. Michelle Wegner was mulling over whether or not to kill; while she found violence largely abhorrent, she was also terrified of dying. When Anthony Kratochvil entered the hangar in which she was hiding, she steeled herself for the worst, but found Anthony surprisingly agreeable and level-headed, a sharp contrast to his reputation as a troublemaker with a mean streak. The pair agreed to stick together, with Anthony assuring Michelle that they'd stay true to themselves without marching mindlessly to their deaths. Meanwhile Muriel and Aaron had collected themselves in the aftermath of Pamela's attack. Muriel expressed interest in taking possession of the MAC-10, but Aaron, put off by the rapid and direct nature of her request, refused. In a show of restraint that would become less and less common as the game progressed, Muriel let the subject drop quietly and without drama. As evening fell, the pair searched for a place to pass the night. They spotted the injured Rodney Mackey in the throes of a fit of rage, and Muriel convinced Aaron that the boy, known at school for being a bully and clearly having already been in a fight, was a threat. Aaron gunned Rodney down from behind; searching the fallen boy, Muriel expressed disappointment to discover he actually had no supplies or weapons in his possession. The two entered and barricaded one of the barracks, planning to set out again come dawn. Similarly seeking shelter for the night, Michelle and Anthony were exploring the upper floor of the mess hall, when they were confronted by soccer player Jack Martyn. While Jack and Anthony had never directly clashed, Jack believed Anthony to be trouble and brushed off Michelle's assurances that the boy meant no harm. Jack lunged for Anthony, and the two briefly brawled before Anthony pushed Jack back against the railing of a balcony overlooking the main mess hall. Jack launched himself at Anthony once more, but this time Anthony kicked him square in the chest, sending him reeling into and through the railing to plummet onto a table below. Not only did the table shatter on impact, Jack landed directly on top of a cup of forks, one of which lodged in his spine and condemned him to an excruciating fate. By chance, the groups of Darius plus Theresa and Jessica plus Gerald came upon each other in the woods, both investigating the noise made by an altercation between a couple of minor players who had fled the scene by the time the duos arrived. After a happy yet tense reunion, all four decided to continue together, with Gerald and Theresa expressing determination to find a way out together, a position Darius publicly supported but privately expressed doubts about to Jessica. Night brought a widespread quiet, with the most notable event taking place in the barracks. Muriel seduced Aaron, convincing him that she was smitten with his actions in their defense throughout the day. When he drifted off after their hookup, however, Muriel stabbed him in the throat with a letter opener looted from Raymond's pack. Aaron awoke shocked and confused and seemed unable to even figure out what had transpired before his death; Muriel calmly dressed herself again and moved to a bunk on the other side of the barracks room, the MAC-10 now in her possession. Notably absent from the list of memorable contestants on the first day was Jonathan Stone. Jonathan spent the bulk of the first day following other contestants around the arena, trying to hype himself up to make a move on them, but ultimately never quite taking the plunge. This changed in the morning of the second day. Jonathan laid in wait outside one of the hangars and got the drop on a girl named Brenda Canter, who had hidden there overnight. Styling himself something of a gentleman bandit with his assigned rapier, Jonathan demanded half of her provisions and her weapon, a hammer. Once she had turned these over to him, Jonathan bid her farewell and sent her on his way, then entered the hangar to explore. What he was unaware of, however, was that Brenda had been hiding out with another girl, Jan Lowry, who had hidden behind the door rather than follow Brenda out when she heard what was going on. As Jonathan stepped inside, Jan slipped a garrote fashioned from the line of her assigned fishing rod around Jonathan's neck and began to throttle him. Jonathan, thinking quickly, stamped on Jan's foot, breaking several of her toes, then slammed the back of his head into her face, causing her to loosen her grip. All pretensions of honorable behavior went out the window as Jonathan stabbed the staggered Jan multiple times in the chest. Darius' group was heading towards the barracks in hopes of finding equipment or a safe haven from which to stage their plans. They pulled up short, however, when they saw William Rusk encounter Muriel while attempting to enter the building himself. Muriel ordered the much more physically imposing William to back off, promising she wouldn't hurt him, then gunned him down once a safe distance between the pair had been established. One of her bullets struck William's collar, and this was what ultimately proved the spark that would lead to the success of Darius' group. In the rush to slim down the collars, they hadn't been tested as thoroughly as typical, and a flaw had been introduced: when damage enough to spark a detonation was caused, the collar would hang for between one and two seconds before actually exploding. This was a side effect of a system designed to prevent accidental detonations; the much thinner collars could more easily sustain minor damage, and the producers wanted to be sure to avoid detonations where possible, so the collars detonated only upon verifying potential damage to functionality. Gerald was the only one to grasp the significance of the fact at the time; the rest were concerned with staying out of Muriel's sight. Throughout the second day, Josue sought to get the drop on others, forcing a girl who had mocked him in school to compliment his physique and a former friend to apologize for blaming him for a minor incident of vandalism; in this latter case, he also broke the boy's right index finger, saying he had to make a point. Muriel attacked several other students, both groups and individuals, but her handling of her gun was poor and she tended to attack from too far away to find notable success. Her frustration at her inability to score more kills with the ease of her first two caused her to grow more and more irritated, in turn further hampering her judgment. Michelle and Anthony entertained the idea of adding another member to their alliance, a boy named James Gerlach, but he attacked Anthony when the boy turned his back; Michelle, who James had assumed incapable or unwilling to come to Anthony's defense, buried a hatchet in James' skull. Afterwards, the pair solemnly mused that even though they were doing their best to do what was right, they had both already killed. Finally, Gerald led Darius' group to experiment with Aaron's corpse under the guise of attempting to remove the letter opener. They managed to detonate Aaron's collar in the process, verifying the delay between damage and detonation, and Darius and Gerald began communicating primarily through writing to hatch their plan, pretending they were trying to stay silent to avoid letting anyone know where they were hiding. Everything came to a head on the third day of the game. Darius and Gerald had concocted a scheme to remove their collars, which they put into effect shortly after the morning announcements. They'd figured out that if they wrenched the collars apart at their connecting points and hurled them sufficiently quickly, there was a decent chance they'd be able to avoid being killed by the explosions. These surmising proved correct, and with the use of some scrounged metal piping the group were able to get all of their collars off in the span of about a minute, though one of the collars in detonating injured Jessica, who was struck in the left eye by a piece of shrapnel. While most attention at the time had been focused on Muriel's encounter with a girl named Jennifer Banks, who she had incapacitated and was shooting to death limb by limb to vent her frustration, the escape drew immediate focus and concern from the producers. A wide range of possible reactions was floated, from halting the game immediately to reattach collars to the four to calling the whole season off to attempting to secure assistance to eliminate the escapees from a distance. The group had proven quite popular with viewers up until this point, however, and so the producers nervously adopted a wait-and-see attitude. At around this time, Jonathan had his second encounter with Brenda, whom he chided for failing to disclose Jan's presence. As recompense, Jonathan demanded the remainder of her supplies; Brenda agreed and Jonathan again released her without further violence, but she became distraught and, believing she had no chance to survive and would only encounter further misfortune, committed suicide by entering the mess hall, now a danger zone. The escape group engaged in a heated and lengthy argument over what to do next, with Darius and Jessica arguing for an immediate sprint for the edges of the arena and Gerald and Theresa opining that they had a duty to save as many others as possible. Finally swayed by his boyfriend's passion, Darius agreed that they would do what they could for those they could round up by nightfall. This fell apart quickly, however; it took the four a long time to locate anyone else given the greatly-diminished population, and the contestant they finally came upon was Octavia Whittaker, who had two kills to her name and was by now in possession of one of the few guns. Darius, who had been assigned a pistol, pointed his own weapon at her as Theresa approached and offered to help Octavia get free without more killing, but the half-crazed Octavia failed to realize that the group had successfully removed their collars and shot Theresa in the head; Darius immediately returned fire, and while his aim was poor he managed to injure her enough to take her out of commission, allowing him to close the gap and finish her at point blank range. The death of Theresa shook Gerald to the core, and he was easily convinced by Darius and Jessica to abandon any further thoughts of saving others and split for the edge of the arena. The group left through the wooded side of the arena, moving slowly and cautiously, and all sustained mild to moderate injuries when scaling the barbed wire fence after midnight. Right after they made good their escape, Muriel cornered Michelle and Anthony, and, after a tense standoff in which she mocked the pair for deluding themselves into thinking they were in any way better than her, emptied a clip into Michelle's chest and fled into the night. Anthony chose to comfort the dying Michelle instead of immediately pursuing Muriel, but as soon as Michelle had passed away he swore he would find Muriel and kill her in revenge. The fourth and final day saw Josue move into actual murder, though initially by mistake; forcing Hugh Peterson to replicate the boot-kiss from the first day, Josue thought it would be funny to kick the boy in the face when he leaned in, but ended up sending shards of bone into his skull. Josue quickly progressed from panic to glee, and tracked down and stabbed to death Katherine Dyal, a girl who had been injured in a previous fight that she emerged the victor of. Jonathan and Anthony each scored one kill apiece, Jonathan ambushing and stabbing Angelo Ventura for his gun, which it turned out he had discarded all ammunition for, and Anthony beating to death Pauline Cole, who laughed at him for his sadness over Michelle's death before trying to kill him with a fire poker. The final student to die before Endgame, Geneva Burns, was cornered by Muriel, who used the last of her ammunition to cut Geneva's legs out from under her. Muriel offered Geneva a choice: kill herself or be slowly tortured to death. Geneva threw herself upon her own knife. Endgame took place in the largest and most packed hangar. By this stage of the game, no firearms remained in play; Muriel had expended her ammunition, Angelo had discarded his, and the remaining two guns had been carried out of the arena by Darius' escape group. Jonathan and Anthony arrived at roughly the same time, but after eyeing each other up agreed to suspend any conflict until later; lacking trust in each other, however, they split ways to enter the hangar from opposite sides. Anthony saw Muriel duck inside and pursued her. Anthony chased her through crates and machinery and under the shell of an airplane, but emerged on the other side to instead find Josue waiting with a crowbar. Josue began to beat Anthony, who fought back as best he could but quickly became staggered by the injuries; while he managed to stab Josue in the gut, Josue kicked his knee out and then finished him with repeated blows to the head. The echoing clang of crowbar against skull and concrete floor drew Jonathan to the scene. Jonathan tried to use his rapier's superior reach to maintain a safe distance, but Josue caught the sword in his crowbar and wrenched it free, then swung it into Jonathan's side, gouging a chunk of flesh loose and causing severe bleeding. Jonathan stepped in close, and when Josue tried to bring his steel-toed boots into play, Jonathan tripped him and followed him to the ground. The boys grappled, and Josue briefly secured the upper hand, leaning his forearm on Jonathan's throat to try to strangle him. Jonathan dug his fingers into the stab wound Anthony had inflicted upon Josue, which caused the boy to recoil and let Jonathan regain his breath. They clawed at each other's faces, Josue scratching the flesh from Jonathan's left cheek and shattering his nose, and Jonathan ultimately shoving his thumbs into Josue's eye sockets. As a blinded and screaming Josue crawled across the ground, Jonathan scooped up the crowbar, planted his foot on Josue's back, and finished the boy with a clean smash to the back of the head. During this time, however, Muriel, who had slipped behind one of the plane's landing gear, had been readying herself, and she launched herself at Jonathan, planting a box cutter in his back and tackling him to the ground; he broke his left wrist attempting to catch himself. As Jonathan and Muriel rolled on the floor, she stabbed him repeatedly with a pair of shears. Jonathan, however, managed to distract Muriel by spitting blood into her face; her moment of hesitation allowed him to pull the hammer from the back of his belt and break her jaw with it. The students came together one more time, Muriel inflicting a final stab to Jonathan's gut, then twisting the shears as she fell backwards, her skull crushed by a blow of Jonathan's hammer. The badly injured Jonathan dropped the hammer to the ground and stumbled out of the hangar, slumping against the wall by the main door. By the time the extraction crew arrived, twenty minutes later, he too had passed away. Legacy: *Rated as: Very Good *Initially, the producers were in a panic over the outcome of Season Five, with the double punch of the game being compromised and the death of the winner thought to have the potential to threaten SOTF's very existence. Things came together, however, in a seemingly-unlikely way: Darius and Jessica were quite prepared to cooperate with the producers (and Gerald was willing to follow along with his boyfriend), who in turn declared their escape legitimate and celebrated their survival as if it were just another facet of the game. The fandom ate this up, and the escape became quite iconic, setting the stage for treatment of later escapes and establishing the idea of a flaw to be found in collars, something the producers intentionally introduced in later seasons. To this day, the collars are frequently redesigned just to allow the introduction of "undiscovered" flaws to seem natural. *Darius and Gerald stepped into the gap left by Jonathan's death and were treated almost as if it was they who had won the season. Darius in particular remained eagerly and actively involved in SOTF, and Gerald followed him to fan conventions and public appearances. The couple were quite popular for the contrast in their dynamic combined with their clear love for each other and their photogenic nature. They married in 2016. In 2017, following news of Jessica's fate, Gerald became less and less comfortable with what spotlight remained, and largely withdrew from SOTF affiliation; Darius drastically scaled back his appearances in solidarity with his husband, but still shows up to events and shows from time to time. *Jessica's blunt nature and rude demeanor did not play as well with the fans, and she grew to somewhat resent the popularity of Gerald and Darius. She fell into relative anonymity, but was tied to enough merchandising to sustain herself off of royalties and travel the world. In early 2017, she disappeared in Colorado while hiking in the mountains. Her backpack was found near a stream, but no trace of her was discovered and nobody was able to piece together exactly what had happened to her; witnesses suggested she might have linked up with an unknown middle-aged man for her hiking, leading to some speculation of foul play, but this was never confirmed. While no body was ever recovered, it is generally believed that Jessica perished, be it from human intervention or some sort of accident in the mountains. *Jonathan Stone's death prompted major reform in the extraction process; in later seasons, an extraction team (including trained medics) was always stationed near the Endgame arena before the finals even began. While this team was kept out of sight and unmentioned whenever possible and was under strict orders not to intervene until only one student remained alive, its presence saved a number of injured winners. *Jonathan Stone himself has a reputation as one of SOTF's forgotten winners, though periodic attempts are made to push him back into public awareness; one of these pushes occurred in the aftermath of Season Sixty-One, with Danielle's coma resulting in increased interest in other winners who suffered major damage in Endgame. *The explicit nature of Muriel's seduction of Aaron, while frequently equaled and surpassed in later seasons, was shocking at the time and prompted a good deal of debate. Trojan Condoms half-jokingly began to sponsor SOTF after this point, and condoms were henceforth included among issued student supplies. Suggested by: MurderWeasel Season Six Dates: ' 2008 '''Winner: ' Susan Moreau (one kill) by KamiKaze)]] '''Runner Up: Mary Moreau Third Place: Ricky Taylor Location: Season 6 took place in none other than the Mojave Desert. A selection of area was enclosed by a fence, and going "out of bounds" would result in collar detonation. As a result of the hot weather conditions, along with a duststorm that hit partway through the game, a number of the contestants died of natural causes such as dehydration. However, there were conveniently placed shelters throughout. Notable Participants: *''Susan Moreau'' (winner) *''Mary Moreau'' (second place) – top killer, with nine kills to her name by the end of the season by KamiKaze)]] *''Ricky Taylor'' (third place) *''Brenda Delgado'' (28th place) *''Lisa Graham'' (29th place) Summary: This season the kids were taken from a school in New York, New York and a school in San Diego, California. There were no particular gimmicks this season in terms of gameplay. However, this season is remembered for the Moreau twins from San Diego. The top killer of this season was Mary Moreau, who, despite starting with just a nail file, managed to rake up nine kills. Her first kill was one Eric Farmer, whose gun she managed to steal, then turn on its former owner. Her tactics seemed to change inconsistently; sometimes she would shoot her competitors from afar, while other times she would attempt the good old "femme fatale" tactic and generally manipulate other players. Common criticism points out that she had poor planning skills, as indicated by her repeatedly changing tactics. In contrast, her twin sister and the eventual winner, Susan Moreau, played completely differently. She spent almost the entirety of the game refusing to play, and, after meeting up with her friends( Lisa Graham and Brenda Delgado) plus her boyfriend (Ricky Taylor), spent much of the time hiking and talking to them. They did discuss escaping, but it never went past the talking/planning stage. For the most part, they were that group that stuck together no matter the circumstances. Surprisingly, this group went farther into the game than would be expected, managing to mostly avoid the major villains. However, Susan made it a goal to meet up with her sister in the hopes of convincing her to stop playing. The group was finally separated when Mary encountered them. After Susan had wandered some ways away from the group to go to the bathroom, Mary, not realizing that Susan had been with them the entire time and yet realizing she could theoretically pass as her, approached the group claiming to be her. It was clear that she was attempting to get the protection of her sister's friends and boyfriend, only to betray them later on. The ruse was easy to see through, thanks to the fact that Mary was dressed differently than Susan, the fact that she didn't seem to realize that Susan had been with them the entire time, and the fact that her behavior was off. As if the ruse wasn't paper-thin enough, Susan returned partway through her explanation, thus ruining it. This incident has received the nickname among some SOTF fans of the "twin switch fail", and there's a well-known Youtube dance remix of Mary's explanation. After Susan had shown up, she and Mary argued. Susan was attempting to ask Mary to stop playing and start staying with the group, while Mary kept trying to justify her behavior. It resulted in Mary getting angered enough to attempt to shoot the group away, which in the process killed Brenda and Lisa. Ricky and Susan barely managed to escape with their lives. Despite the loss of her friends and being horrified by the ordeal, Susan made it a goal to see her sister again. They did meet again when, with a bit of luck, the three managed to be the final three contestants. With a gun and machete in tow, Susan and Ricky argued with Mary a bit after the latter's murder of the fourth place competitor, Pascal Anthony. Ricky, feeling he had no choice but to murder Mary, had a shootout with her and died in the process. For the first time and despite being otherwise pacifistic throughout the game, Susan felt truly murderous towards Mary and tackled her from behind, stabbing her in the back repeatedly. This left Susan the winner of Season Six. Presently, she has moved out of San Diego, and while she does receive offers to show up for SOTF-TV's promotional material, she always refuses, having been traumatized by the ordeal. It would seem as if she wants to leave the incident behind her, and not participate in any of the things that got her friends, boyfriend, and sister killed. Legacy: *Rated as: Average *Generally, both sisters' tactics were seen as, to put it kindly, "could have been better". Mary came off as impulsive and reckless throughout the game, and as noted she had very poor planning. The "twin switch fail" is a prime example given by many of her detractors, who proceed to point out how badly she messed up there. Said incident is also given as a good example on how not to deceive your competitors. Susan, meanwhile, is often seen as being a "boring pacifist" who only got murderous at the last minute, and that her group was mostly boring up until said "twin switch fail". As a result, she occasionally gets the accusation of "parkering". Both of them are considered to be the Final Two simply out of luck rather than skill. However, both sisters do have their fans, as a result of the fact that both of them had fairly quotable lines, their respective storylines did get interesting after a while, and to some fans they were considered moderately attractive. As a result, this season did fairly well, thanks to the drama of two sisters with two different methods of playing the game prominently part of the main arc. While this season does have its critics, it has its fair share of fans as well. In terms of actual ratings, this season did surprisingly well despite the criticism it has received. *Mary Moreau's nine kills broke the standing record of eight from Georgie Preston. Suggested by: KamiKaze Season Seven Dates: ''' 2008 '''Winner: '''Catherine Cody (four kills) '''Runner Up: William Hough Third Place: Robert Atkinson Location: This season was set on a small, largely undeveloped island near Alaska. As season seven took place in the early fall, the weather was warm enough that no special preparations were required. Notable Participants: *''Catherine Cody'' – One of the heroes and the eventual winner of season seven, Catherine was a calm, polite, bookish girl. At the beginning of the game, she was part of a large alliance, but it was wiped out on the second day. At that time, the formerly-reserved Catherine swore revenge, and began hunting down players. Throughout, she retained her general good nature and strong sense of morality, being willing to listen and consider mercy without being gullible, making her a fairly popular contender. As a result of her generally cautious, stealth-based play, she managed to avoid ever receiving serious injury on the island. *''William Hough'' – William was another of season seven's heroes. A photogenic, kind-hearted football player, William tried several times to organize an escape group, though no concrete ideas ever manifested. Having scored two kills in the opening minutes of the game, both in self defense, William found most of his class unwilling to trust him. He repeatedly endangered himself to prove his good intentions to others, but spent most of the game trying and failing to protect his friends. *''Robert Atkinson'' – Robert was known as one of the stranger villains of the earlier seasons of SOTF-TV. He spent the first three days of the game avoiding conflict entirely, staying on the move whenever possible and visiting as much of the island as he could. It was only after the sixth announcement revealed that there were only eleven students remaining, and that the two biggest killers until that point had both been killed, that he began to actively play. Having already familiarized himself with most of the areas and having a good assigned weapon (a rifle), Robert was able to hunt down and kill four of his fellow students before the finals, where he accounted for two more deaths. *''Grace Clarkson'' (fourteenth place) – One of season seven's main villains, Grace scored a single kill on the first day. She began the game playing fairly logically, but soon cracked under the pressure and the weight of her own guilt, and began attempting more and more gruesome kills. In the process, her efficiency dropped drastically, as she allowed several students to escape while she was gloating or plotting tortures. Her run ended shortly before the sixth announcement, when, while finishing off her fifth kill, she was ambushed by Catherine Cody. *''Edward Mitchell'' (twenty-fourth place) – Edward was one of the most promising early game villains of season seven. He managed to assemble a trio dedicated to hunting down all their other classmates. While he was the brain behind the group, Edward was not the primary muscle, accounting for only three kills in the game: one early solo attack, one kill when his team attacked and destroyed a large group, and the elimination of his surviving partner later on. Summary: Season seven, which drew its fifty contestants from the senior class of Abraham Lincoln High in Omaha, Nebraska, had a slow start, with only four kills occurring in the first day, two of them when William Hough defended himself and in the process eliminated two students who had been pegged as contenders. The majority of the early footage dealt with the formation of several large groups and with students reactions to their situation. In the second day, the action ramped up, as each group fell apart in some fashion. Most (including one headed by William Hough) fell victim to suspicion and internal dissent, though the largest (seven strong) was destroyed by an attack from three allied players, led by a boy named Edward Mitchell. The battle was catastrophic, claiming the lives of one of Edward's allies and all but one member of the non-player group. The survivor, Catherine Cody, had been away from her allies, relieving herself a ways deeper into the woods than the small clearing where her allies had made camp. Rushing back, she was too late to save anyone or attempt immediate revenge, but she did manage to catch a good look at the attackers. After that, Catherine, formerly no more than a quiet follower of her group, set out alone. While her actions were initially difficult to understand, it became clear that she was searching for the players who had killed her friends. Shortly after an announcement revealed that half the class was now dead, she caught up, just in time to see Edward and his remaining partner become embroiled in a dispute over how to continue playing. Edward argued for a more active approach, while his ally, who had been wounded in the battle, wanted to lay low. In the end, they decided to go their separate ways, but Edward betrayed his friend, shooting him in the back. When he went to confirm his kill, Catherine snuck up behind him and beat him over the head with a piece of rebar (her assigned weapon). While this did not kill Edward, it did cause him to drop his gun, which Catherine grabbed. She then turned the weapon on Edward, telling him that she intended to get revenge for her group. Edward tried to bluff his way out of the situation, telling Catherine that the gun still had the safety on, a fact that she disproved by shooting him in the shoulder. At this point, Edward surrendered, begging for mercy. Catherine hesitated, then demanded all of his weapons and supplies, excepting some food and a first aid kit, so that Edward could treat his wound but would not be a further danger to other students. Edward agreed, but tried to attack and kill Catherine the second she dropped her guard, using a knife he'd kept in his pocket. She had been prepared for a betrayal, however, and reacted quickly enough to shoot Edward again, this time in the chest. He quickly went into shock, and soon bled to death. Catherine, left without a further goal, was initially at a loss as to what to do. She soon realized that, while she had avenged her friends, other classmates were still in danger. With that in mind, she decided to hunt down other players. She continued in the same vein for the remainder of the game, catching a minor player unawares and shooting them to death, then ambushing and killing Grace Clarkson, one of the most notorious players of the season, at the scene of her most gory murder. As the game began to wind down and innocents became rarer, Catherine found herself somewhat unsure what her eventual goal was, grappling with the fact that, by killing players, she was almost playing herself. She decided to try to survive, but promised herself (and the cameras) that she would not kill anyone who hadn't attacked her or killed in cold blood. Shortly before the finals, Catherine encountered William Hough. The meeting nearly exploded into violence, as she initially identified him as a player by virtue of his three kills. William, however, managed to persuade her that he was not playing, noting that his first two kills had been self defense and explaining that his third had been a notorious player. Convinced, Catherine allied herself with William, the two deciding to watch out for each other and try to protect anyone innocent left. The two had never interacted at school, coming from vastly different cliques, but as they spent time together they talked at length and became friends, bonding over their shared trauma and goals. They also became progressively more distraught at the idea that, at best, one of them would survive. At around the same time, a boy named Robert Atkinson finally began playing. Robert was completely uninjured and had developed a good working knowledge of the island's geography. He'd also managed to scavenge food and water, and was in better health than most of his opponents. This, along with his low profile, allowed him to quickly and easily sweep through four of the eleven surviving students. Three others died in an unrelated altercation, with one girl killing two of her friends before being finished off by a third, Ana Brown. The final four were herded towards a bridge over a stream (one of the few man-made features on the island) for their final battle. William and Catherine decided to try to ensure that one of them survived, noting that everyone left alive had kills to their names. Meanwhile, Robert, using the previous danger zone distribution to make an educated guess, managed to ambush and kill Ana while she was en route to the final area, leaving only three contestants to actually reach the bridge. What followed was a fairly straightforward firefight, as Catherine and William found themselves across the bridge from Robert. Robert had not counted on facing an allied pair, and for the first time lost his cool, attacking rashly. He focused his fire on William, figuring him for the bigger threat, and hit him several times. Catherine, however, made a lucky shot, disabling Robert's dominant arm when he was halfway across the bridge. She then closed in and finished him off, shooting him repeatedly in the chest and head. Returning to William, she found that he had sustained severe injuries, and was bleeding to death. William and Catherine talked briefly and decided that it would be better to prioritize defense over treating William's wounds, as both were unaware that Ana was already dead. As they waited for an attack that never came, William slowly succumbed to his injuries, eventually lapsing into unconsciousness and dying shortly thereafter, at which point Catherine was informed that she had won. Legacy: *Rated as: Very good *Catherine and William were viewed as quite heroic overall, though after the game Catherine expressed remorse over many of her actions. Robert's decision to play has been referred to as saving the season from descending into dullness following the deaths of the more sadistic villains. *Catherine was fairly vocal about her time in the game for a few years after her win, though she was not a particularly charismatic speaker and was pretty much shunted out of the spotlight, as her in-game image was much more glamorous than her reality. She expressed some disapproval for the program, but stopped short of decrying it completely, and did cash in to a notable degree on her popularity. In 2012, she married and dropped entirely out of the spotlight to focus on her life with her family. She currently has two children (home-schooled) and lives in a small town in Nebraska. Suggested by: MurderWeasel Season Eight Dates: ' 2008 '''Winner: ' Travis "Bug" Hood (seven kills) '''Runner Up: Third Place: Location: Notable Participants: * Summary: Legacy: * Suggested by: Category:SOTF-TV Lore Category:SOTF-TV